Power to Shine
by Talisman of Light
Summary: ALCCS crossover. Four Deuses come together when the Clow cards are released once again, twenty years after the end of AL and CCS. Each have their own reason for trying to recapture the cards, but only one will make it to the Final Judgment and emerge as
1. Battle One: The Beginning

Hi, this is my first AL fic. I hope you like it! (It's an Angelic Layer/Card Captor Sakura crossover.)

Complete summary:

Four Deuses come together when the Clow cards are released once again, twenty years after the end of AL and CCS. Each have their own reason for trying to recapture the cards, but only one will make it to the Final Judgment and emerge as the new Master of the Star Cards. ALCCS Crossover.

Disclaimer: AL and CCS belong to their respective owners and anyone else with permission to their rights. Unfortunately I cannot claim to belong to the group of either of these lucky people. Instead I belong to a third group that many of us here belong to, and that is the group of wishful dreamers who write fanfiction using the anime/manga and characters created by others.

A/N: This fic takes place in the U.S. Since it's twenty years after the end of both Angelic Layer and Card Captor Sakura, there's a lot of new technology out, and Layers functioning similar to the Internet are nothing uncommon. Plus, there are four main characters, and scenes may switch from one person's POV to another's often. I really hope you enjoy this fic, and please R&R!

* * *

BATTLE ONE

It was a warm and sunny day and the skies were a friendly light blue. As she walked home from her first day of the second week of middle school in America, twelve-year old Yuriko Li, known to most as Yuri, sighed with pleasure as she recalled the events of the past two weeks. She had not performed badly at all, and things had gone a lot smoother than she had anticipated. First she and her father, Syaoran Li, had packed up all their things and said their goodbyes to everyone in China. Then with one last phone call to her mother in England, Sakura Li, who had wished them both a good and safe journey, Yuri and her father had made their way over to America by plane. Once they had gotten over jet lag and were all settled, Yuri and her father had started their daily life, her father working for some big business company, while Yuri went to school. Sakura was set to join her family a month after they moved in to their new house because she still needed to finish up some work. Though moving did mean a new school for Yuri, she had done very well, making many friends within the first week, and exceeding in most of her classes.

Today, Yuri walked slowly, because she wanted to check out what many of her new friends had been talking about during lunch, the newest sensation currently out on the market, Angelic Layer. Rumor had it that twenty some years ago, a group of scientists had created hi-tech dolls that could be controlled by thoughts while trying to make replacement legs for handicapped people. The dolls were released to the public only when bankruptcy had threatened, but instantly became a major hit among people of all different ages including both genders, seemingly overnight. Battle tournaments were held on Layers where these dolls, now called Angels, could fight each other along with their human Deuses. National, and International Champion titles were up for grabs, and the dreams of young girls were set free while hopes soared. Angelic Layer was truly a work of genius, a real miracle for all. But a decade after its auspicious release, Angelic Layer had come to a crashing halt, with sudden abruptness and mystery. No one knew what had caused the collapse, but all of a sudden, Angelic Layer had gone from a respectable hobby for all to an old and outdated past time for nerds, freaks, and others of the sort. For a few years, all Layer activity had been suspended, until once more, Angelic Layer achieved great popularity when it was reintroduced again a few months ago. New Layers, new models of Angels, and all new ways to fight helped Angelic Layer reclaim its lost throne of fame around the world almost instantly. Of course, seeing as how all this about Angelic Layer's original release twenty years ago was just a rumor, most likely made by some ignorant person who had nothing better to do or some popularity heist from the Angelic Layer Project Development Team, it was more likely that Angelic Layer was really just a recent breakthrough in modern technology. This was what Yuri believed.

As a bright store sign in pastel colors came into Yuri's view, she broke into a run. The sign read: "Piffle Princess", which Yuri immediately recognized as the name of the store the girls at her lunch table had mentioned. Yuri reached the revolving doors at the entrance of the store huffing and puffing. She paused to catch her breath before she pushed on the doors and walked in.

The merchandise that was being sold inside nearly took Yuri's breath away again. _It's beautiful_, she thought, as she looked over to see a group of people gathered around a display of clear glass winged eggs. Another group of people carrying large rolls of fabric were lined up at a counter in the far corner of the store. From what she saw, it appeared to Yuri that the customers were waiting to get their cloth measured and cut. The cloth itself was marvelous, coming in all kinds of different colors, patterns, and textures. Yuri's eyes wandered around the store, taking in everything. There were so many fantastic displays, of large boxes labeled "Starting Kit", packs, of smaller boxes labeled accessories showing pictures of everything from jewelry to swords, and even more boxes, this time enormous in size, each labeled "Practice Layer for the Home". Located at the back of the store were four escalators, two going up and two going down, on which rode all sorts of different people carrying various small beautiful dolls on their arms and shoulders. Many carried cards in their hands, each labeled "Angel Card". Wow, Yuri thought wondrously, I don't know what this is all about, but after seeing the smiles on all these people's faces, I only know that whatever this may be, I want to become a part of it.

Yuri was broken from her dreamy trance suddenly as she was jostled from behind. "Hey!" she protested as she turned around, "Watch where—" Yuri gasped. A whole crowd of people had just forsaken what they were doing and were now making their way up the escalators. Unable to fight her way through back to the gates, Yuri was dragged up with the mini-stampede of people.

A few seconds later, she found herself in a large and airy room, where a sign labeled "Piffle Princess Official Minor Tournaments" hung overhead. Large circular tables that seemed to be lighted from within were scattered all over this second floor. Two egg-shaped winged chairs sat at opposite ends of the lighted tables. Some chairs were occupied by people wearing winged, clear pink visors, who were staring in deep concentration at the table in front of them where one to two of the dolls Yuri had seen, depending on the number of people sitting on the chairs, danced, fought, and practiced new battle moves.

The people who had rode the escalator with Yuri had made their way over to the largest group of onlookers standing around a table in the corner of the room. The crowd was so thick, Yuri couldn't see what lay beyond, so she made her way over and squeezed between two girls with dolls on their shoulders.

Yuri gasped at the sight that greeted her once she had made it into the barrier of people. Two people sat at one of the circular tables, both wearing the winged headsets. They were both females, one a middle-aged woman with oddly fashioned dark brown hair and sparkling blue eyes, and the other a girl who looked to be around Yuri's age, with long ebony hair tied back and beautifully arched dark eyebrows, framing cold emotionless violet eyes. The girl's skin color was a light mocha color, hinting that her ancestry was from elsewhere other than the U.S., possibly someplace in southeast Asia.

Out of nowhere a voice announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen! We welcome you to this exciting and unexpected treat we have in store for you today. Those of you lucky enough to be here today should be informed that this was entirely accidental, only when both our Deuces here made their presence be known, we realized that though they were here the same day by mere coincidence, this was a great opportunity for many of us to experience a great fight firsthand. These two brilliant Deuces are . . ."

The audience looked as if they were holding their breath. The blue-eyed woman looked happy while the violet-eyed girl continued to stare indifferently.

"Deus Misaki Suzuhara and Angel Hikaru against Deus Rya Shikari and Angel Artemis! The universal Champion against our own National Champion."

The man missed the violet-eyed girl mutter under her breath, "_Tentative_ National Champion. How can there possibly be a National Champion when there hasn't even been a National _Tournament_?"

Oblivious to the girl's comment, the man continued, "They have never battled before. When they found themselves in the same place at the same time with their Angels, at a place with an abundance of Layers, we— er . . . _they _decided to have a battle to test each other's abilities. However, since this is not an official battle, the results will not count on anything, nor will they be released to anyone. But that doesn't mean we can't all have some fun! Here are the conditions: The first one to remove her opponent's Angel from battle wins. If time runs out before that, then the Deus who has acquired more damage points will lose. And now . . . ENTER THE ANGELS!"

"Angel Wings, please guide me and Hikaru! Angel Fall In!" Deus Misaki threw a red-clad doll with short pink hair and bright pink eyes onto the table. It passed through an invisible barrier before neatly landing on the table. Yuri stared in awe. Hikaru was so . . . amazing. There was no other way to describe her.

"The hunt has begun, let the moon shine upon our path, Artemis! Angel Fall In!" Deus Rya threw in a beautiful silvery violet-haired doll, her long hair tied in the same style as her Deus, but allowing two long silver locks loose on either side, framing a face that looked stern, but gentle at the same time. Her beautifully arched eyebrows, shaped like her Deus's, accented her dark amethyst eyes, many shades darker than those of her Deus. Artemis wore mostly leather and other tough materials made to look like armor. She had on a sleeveless short indigo tunic belted with a jewel studded belt complete with a sword sheath from which the silver hilt of a sword could be seen on the left side, and a quiver of arrows from the right. She carried a bow on her back and wore long navy bluish-violet pants. Bits of silver armor studded with amethysts and sapphires adorned her arms, legs, and middle. Long black gloves were visible underneath the armor on her arm. The doll's dark silvery-violet hair flew all around her as she flew through the barrier headfirst, then somersaulted slowly in the air with poise, before landing on her feet with great elegance, quickly unsheathing her sword with her right hand, and then resheathing it with her left, making a magnificent display of both speed and confidence. Yuri felt an excitement unlike any she had ever felt before.

"And now . . . ANGELIC FIGHT!"

The scene unfolding right in front of Yuri and the other onlookers' eyes as they watched was beyond spectacular. Hikaru rushed Artemis as soon as her feet hit the ground. Artemis dodged beautifully, and kicked Hikaru hard in the stomach, before placing herself just out of Hikaru's reach. Hikaru recovered quickly and came at Artemis again, swifter than anything. Artemis stood her ground, and did not even attempt to move away. Once Hikaru came within a few inches of Artemis, Artemis raised her arms as if preparing herself for the attack. Hikaru suddenly dropped down to the ground, on her knees, slightly levered herself up with her hands before extending out one leg and spin-kicking Artemis, tripping her and making her fall to the ground. Artemis' health counter went down just the tiniest fraction. She still had a lot more health left than Hikaru. She quickly jumped back up and stared at Hikaru with contempt.

Misaki continued to smile, while Rya still showed no emotion, though her eyes seemed to have cooled down a few more degrees, giving her a harsh look.

Hikaru came once more towards Artemis, so fast that she was simply a red blur on the Layer. Artemis did not move until the last minute, when she turned around so that her back was facing Hikaru. With more speed than even Hikaru, Artemis dropped to the ground on both hands, copying her opponent's previous move. But her kick was unique. Just as Hikaru was about to tackle Artemis and send her flying out, both of Artemis's legs shot out from behind her, catching Hikaru in the stomach. Obviously hurt, Hikaru fell backwards on her behind, doubled up in pain. Hikaru's health counter went down well below the halfway point.

Artemis walked over to Hikaru and stood over her fallen form, looking ready to deliver the final blow that would end it. Instead, Artemis simply waited. Slowly Hikaru stood up, her face grimaced in an expression of great pain. As soon as she looked ready, Artemis took hold of both her hands in her own. She started to spin, pulling Hikaru along, as she spun with her, like two little girls playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie. At first the two Angels were whirling around slowly, hand in hand. A few moments later, you could barely distinguish the difference between them. Red and indigo fused together to form a brilliant shade of spiraling violet. Hikaru and Artemis became one in a spectacular show of speed, grace, and nimbleness.

Misaki's smile faltered and was replaced by a look of confusion. Rya kept her face blank.

Suddenly Artemis let go, and both Angels went flying to the edges of the Layer, unable to stop because the momentum from the spin was so great. Unexpectedly, just as the two Angels neared the edge of the Layer and the health counters prepared to go down once they hit the ground, all the lights on the third story of the store flickered and went out. The two Deuses, and everyone surrounding them were left in total darkness.

"What happened?" asked someone fearfully.

"I don't know," answered another.

"The lights went out."

"Duh! That's why it's all black, right?"

"Ahem!" the voice of the announcer silenced everyone, as he strained to make his voice loud, seeing as how his microphone did not work anymore. "We are experiencing a technical difficulty. Our heartfelt apologies go out to you all. But since we do not expect for this to be cleared up for a couple of hours, we would advise you all to go home. In case you're wondering, this match between Deus Misaki Suzuhara and Deus Rya Shikari has been declared a tie. We thank you in advance for your cooperation, and we hope for our systems to be back up and running by tomorrow."

The crowed grumbled unhappily as they made their way to the escalators, climbing down them because they had stopped. Yuri was dragged down the escalators, and pushed out the revolving doors by the surging crown. She found herself outside, soaking wet in the pouring rain. Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rumbled. Dark, ominous storm clouds moved in. Yuri started walking home, puzzling over the weather and going over the awesome battle she had just seen. _What on earth? It was just sunny before I entered the store! Oh well, I better rush home now before Dad starts worrying too much._ _Speaking of which, that battle I just saw was amazing! Angelic Layer is so cool. I so have to convince Dad to let me buy my own Angel. I'll even pay for it myself!_

The next day, Yuri found herself once again inside Piffle Princess. But this time, she was with her father, and her pockets were full of money to buy an Angel and Starter Kit with. At the store, she quickly picked out her Angel Egg and Starter Kit, which included an Angel Cord, Angel Computer, and other miscellaneous necessities, and placed them carefully in her cart, which she left with her father who had decided to wait near the entrance, watching his daughter with vigilance in case someone tried to hurt her, which did not seem very likely, but Yuri's dad was kind of a nutcase. Yuri then ran over to the cloth section and emptied the rest of her wallet on fancy and expensive leathers and silks. At the counter, she paid for it all, using up every last cent she had saved since her fifth birthday.

* * *

That night, after dinner, Yuri sat down with her Angel Egg, completely forgetting about her math homework, which was on the floor right in front of her. Not bothering to waste any of her precious time reading the instructions, Yuri went ahead and opened the Egg. A transparent slimy liquid spilled out all over her homework. Yuri let out a cry. _What have I done? _Yuri quickly took her math homework, ran to the bathroom and shook off any excess water, and then left it to dry on the counter. _I'll do it later, _she thought a bit guiltily. _I should have time. _Yuri ran back to her room and turned her attention to the Angel Egg. An Angel had fallen out when she had opened it. She carefully picked up the Angel and ran back to the bathroom to rinse off any remaining liquid, before drying it on a towel and running back to her room.

Yuri excitedly began tearing off the wrappings on all her packages. _Okay, first she needs hair. _Yuri looked through all her hair choices; there were just so many to pick from! After a while, Yuri's mind finally settled on cherry-blossom pink hair, like Hikaru's. _Perfect_, decided Yuri. She didn't bother to take out her scissors, instead she left the hair length untouched, all the way down to her Angel's waist. When Yuri finally set up the computer, she placed her Angel in between two metal rings on a stand. White light sealed in her Angel into a round cylinder, known as the Angel Scanner, and held it in place as it hovered in the air. The Angel computer came on and started listing personalized options. First Yuri chose the gender, most obviously female. Next came stats. After a moment's thought, Yuri decided on a middleweight with great offense. _I want my Angel to be like Hikaru, and not. This is one way she'll be different._ Yuri's emphasis on attack caused her Angel's defense to suffer greatly, and while her speed was less than average, it wasn't that bad. After a few more decisions, Yuri's Angel was completed. The final screen came up. Yuri looked at it and started thinking. _A name for my Angel? Well it has to be special. Should I make it in English or Japanese? _Finally, a half hour later, Yuri typed "Kokoro" into the name blank. _May you always be true of heart, my dear Angel Kokoro, _Yuri thought with a giggle. _It did take me forever to come up with your name . . ._

Kokoro opened her eyes, cherry-blossom pink, matching her hair, but one shade darker. Yuri squealed in delight before picking her up and dancing around the room with joy. Kokoro's eyes closed shut once she left the lighted plates, but Yuri was excited all the same. "My very own Angel!" she thought happily. "Wait till I show you to Kari-chan! She's my best friend already, though I've only been in school for a week or so, and she's a Deus too. She'll be happy to see you and I'm sure she'll help us get started playing Angelic Layer, together!"

* * *

At school the next day, Yuri showed her Angel to Kari at lunch. Kari was originally from Japan, like Yuri, but had brown hair and black eyes. She was very enthusiastic about Yuri's Angel, who was already dressed thanks to Yuri's staying up past four in the morning working on her outfit. "Welcome to the world of Angelic Layer, Yuri-chan!"

"Arigatou . . ." Yuri said shyly.

"What's her name?" asked Kari.

"Kokoro," Yuri replied.

"Cool. Would you like to see my Angel? We can go over to a Training Center after school together to practice if that's okay with you and I'll show you the ropes."

"Okay and okay." With a pang of guilt, Yuri vaguely remembered that she was supposed to stay after school with her math teacher, Ms. Ongko, while she did her homework from last night and made up for having fallen asleep during class, something Yuri had never been guilty of before. The homework had never been finished because Yuri's mind was too occupied with Angelic Layer. It had not helped that her worksheet was soaked with shock-absorbent liquid. _But I can always do it later, Ms. Ongko is a nice enough teacher, I doubt she'll mind, _thought Yuri. She quickly switched her thoughts over to Angelic Layer. "So can I see your Angel, Kari-chan?"

Kari took out her Angel in response, a blue-eyed blonde wearing a flowery pink sundress, and red bonnet. "Her name is Katrina," said Kari.

"She's pretty," said Yuri, looking at her appreciatively.

Neither Yuri, nor Kari saw another girl standing a few feet behind them, her back against a wall, eyeing Katrina with disgust. _Just how does she expect that Angel to fight in a dress? _thought the girl disdainfully, _it's not exactly going to look attractive, at least not to most people when she tries to kick._ The girl had dark skin and black hair, and looked almost normal . . . except for her eyes. They were a remarkable shade of dark-violet.

END BATTLE ONE


	2. Battle Two: Virtual Fight

Disclaimer: AL and CCS belong to their respective owners and anyone else with permission to their rights. Unfortunately I cannot claim to belong to the group of either of these lucky people. Instead I belong to a third group that many of us here belong to, and that is the group of wishful dreamers who write fanfiction using the anime/manga and characters created by others. I cannot even claim to own my OC's seeing as how many are the children of existing characters.

* * *

BATTLE TWO

"Are you ready?" asked a computerized voice of the Layer, once all the cables and cords had been put in the right places, and the switch was flipped from OFF to ON.

It was a peaceful Sunday morning, three weeks after Yuri had first made Kokoro. Yuri nodded, as she put on her visor and extended out its wings, despite knowing that the computer could not see any physical movements she made. Her deep emerald eyes sparkled with excitement as she impatiently shoved her hair out of her eyes. Though this digital ritual was not new to her anymore, after almost three weeks of constant practice with her Angel in the virtual lab at the local Piffle Princess Training Center under Kari's guidance, this was Yuri's first battle in her very own room. She had just finished setting up her late birthday present a couple of hours ago after eating breakfast and making sure that all her homework for the next day was finished; a Virtual Layer with Internet connections, complete with holographic projections of your opponent's angel and the randomly selected arena for the Layer.

This new edition of the Practice Layers had just come out recently and Yuri was already sure she was one of the first ones to have gotten her hands on it. _It pays to wait for birthday presents_, she thought. Yuri turned to the computer screen in front of her and slightly shifted her head so that her mouth was over the voice activated Layer. "I am ready," she said out loud.

"Very well. Now connecting to the Virtual Layer database." Thirty seconds later the computer announced, "Connection complete. Your randomly chosen opponent is . . . Deus Aria Saregam and her Angel, Sonora."

The Virtual Layer was a fairly recent creation launched by the Angelic Layer team. It worked similar to the Internet, Deuces from all over the world could battle each other "online" without ever having to be in the same room together, just like people could "talk" to each other on line over Instant Messaging services and likewise. It gave playing Angelic Layer a whole new dimension. Though official tournaments still consisted of the original Layers where both Deuces had to be present in body, spirit, and mind, this new Practice Layer was gaining popularity fast among Deuces who liked to practice at home because of the way you could fight another Deus without either having to leave the comfort of one's own home. A Deus's opponent could very well be on the other side of the world, but neither would have to meet each other, ever. But the best part about these Virtual Internet Layers was that they could also function as a normal Layer, so you could use it to fight your friends, as well as unknown people, if you wished.

Yuri fought hard to contain her anticipation and stay in her seat. _My first real opponent,_ she thought with a silent squeal_, someone I don't know, someone I can only reach through a Virtual Internet Layer connection, someone who'll only know me through an Angelic Fight. We'll never find out where each other lives, or our ages, or anything. Once we fight, we may never find each other ever again, and in time we'll_ _forget this battle ever took place. This isn't just a practice battle against my friends at Piffle Princess, it's really happening!_

The computerized voice interrupted Yuri's thoughts by rudely beeping once before giving its message, "Deus Aria has agreed to visual portrayal, is the agreement mutual?"

Yuri thought it over. Visual portrayal was when both Deuces agreed to having a picture of themselves be projected in the egg-shaped, winged chairs reserved for the battling Deuces so that they could see one another. Though she did not have a picture of herself handy, the Layer computer could easily scan her right now exactly the way she was, and her image would be projected into Aria's side of the connection. In return, she'd get to see what Aria looked like. Yuri got up out of her Deuces' chair and walked to the right corner of her room where a floor-length mirror stood. Except for her new Layer, which took up the entire left side of her room, everything in her room matched. The mirror was circular in shape, bordered with dark mahogany wood, made to match her mahogany sleigh bed engraved with vines of ivy, her mahogany desk complete with a mahogany hutch, and her most favorite piece of furniture, a mahogany bookshelf that had been passed down quite a few generations on her dad's side of the family. It was beautiful, with carvings of ancient spirits and symbols. Since her father was the head of his clan, the Li clan, back in China, he always had first pick to the best heirlooms. When she and her family had moved to America, Yuri had left all her furniture behind except for this bookshelf. Then after coming here, she had made sure that all of her new bedroom set matched the elegant bookshelf. Yuri turned her attention to the mirror and looked over her reflection. Currently she was bare-footed, wearing dark navy jeans, and a plain white t-shirt. Basically she was dressed for comfort, it was Sunday afternoon and all her homework was done, so her mother had let her open her present, which had just been purchased yesterday when it had been released worldwide. Her chestnut hair, similar to her father's dark brown, falling over her shoulder and back, all the way down to her waist, hung in graceful waves. Her soft and kind green eyes were a total carbon copy of her mother's, or so she was told. Since Yuri's mother was in England, taking care of some private business Yuri knew almost nothing about, Yuri had not actually seen her in a few years, ever since she and her father had moved to China from Japan, and was sadly, beginning to forget what she looked like. Unless she was angered, Yuri's eyes forever showed amiability and good humor.

"I repeat, is the agreement of visual portrayal mutual?"

Yuri whipped around, drawing her attention away from the mirror and back to the Layer and its computer. She made her way over and sat down before saying, "Yes. I would like to request a scan."

"Very well. Now scanning. Scanning completed. Now retrieving images of Deus Aria Saregam. Images found. Now projecting. Projection complete. ENTER THE ANGELS!"

_ Whoa_, _you sure work fast._ She looked across her Practice Layer. Sure enough, on the other side, an image of a girl sitting in a Deuces' chair appeared. The girl had light hazel eyes that showed both friendliness and competitiveness. Her black hair was cut to chin length, but it layered down to her shoulder, and her skin was a dark mocha brown. All Yuri could see of her clothes was a sleeveless periwinkle top. When she saw Yuri, she smiled. Yuri smiled back. She guessed if they could see each other's movements, then the Layer's computer also worked as a web-cam, a type of video camera for computers that people could use to see and talk to their relatives on the other side of the world. Unfortunately, unlike the Layers at Piffle princess, Practice Layers made for homes could not carry sound from one Deus to another, so Yuri would not be able to converse with Aria orally. Of course, digital text messages could be sent, like on cell phones, only the process was a lot easier because the Deuces had access to a real keyboard. The computer beeped again and showed a message to Yuri. It said: _"I'm so happy to be battling you! Let's both give it our best! _–Aria_"_

Yuri made a hasty reply using the keyboard located in front of her chair. _"Yes, I am happy to fight you too. Shall we begin? _–Yuri_"_

In reply, an Angel suddenly entered the Layer across from Yuri, flying through the air. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she made a great show of her grace and beauty by performing a series of cartwheels and then landing perfectly on both feet. The Angel looked exactly like her Deus, wearing a periwinkle gown that flowed off the right shoulder all the way down to the ground, but with a few exceptions; her hair was a light blue, and she had golden eyes. In addition, her skin was deathly pale. The computer beeped again and Yuri looked at the screen_. "Show them the power of music. Let them hear our song. Sing Sonora! Angel Fall In!" _

Yuri recognized it as Aria's Entry Phrase. Not bad, she thought, it's probably better than mine, which I badly need some time to work on. Oh well, here goes. Yuri took her Angel out of her pocket and threw her in, before typing her Entry Phrase. _"Heart of the Angels, guide me and Kokoro to victory! Angel Fall In!" _

Yuri winced, as she looked it over. In all honesty, her entry line sucked. First of all it seemed kind of impolite, demanding victory form the "Heart of Angels". Not to mention it sounded very similar to the new Champion's Entry Phrase; "Angel Wings, please guide me and Hikaru". _I'll just have to do with it for now; I can fix it later, she thought with a sigh. At least Kokoro is at her best._ Yuri concentrated on her Angel as her toes hit the Layer and she fell to her knees with just as much, if not more grace than Sonora. Yuri smiled, for she saw all those hours of hard work on practicing Kokoro's entry had finally paid off. Kokoro's eyes were closed, and her face tilted down. Her cherry-blossom pink hair billowed behind her, but since she was kneeling down, the fact that it fell down to the floor when standing could not be seen. Kokoro nodded once, still with her eyes closed, before her eyes flashed open, revealing their enigmatic dark ruby shade. The Angel stood up slowly, using her hands to lever herself off the ground. Once she was up, her back was iron-rod straight, showing no sign that she had been hunched on the ground just a second ago. She was wearing black leather pants, a knee-length and sleeveless magenta Chinese-style top with two slits on either side up to the thighs, and a silver chain down her hairline from which hung a ruby-pink gemstone between her two eyebrows. Matching the silver chain, Kokoro had on large silver hoop earrings, three on each ear, with dangling clusters of pink beads, two silver bangles, one on each hand, beaded with round pink jewels, a silver chained necklace from which a heart shaped ruby pendant hung in the hollow of her neck, and lastly, silver anklets with ruby and pink balls, that made a chiming sound every time Kokoro moved her feet. Kokoro went barefoot, as if to accentuate her anklet's presence even better. Her hair shone like silk, let free all the way down past her anklets. In Yuri's opinion, Kokoro was the most beautiful Angel ever created. She was perfect, created for offense more than anything; Yuri had won all her battles so far against her friends and other local Deuces at Piffle Princess. The only one she had not yet fought was ironically, Kari, the girl who had introduced her to Angelic Layer. But that was only because Kari had told Yuri to wait until the first ever Angelic Layer Tournament of the United States opened. Now that she had finally begun international Angelic battling online, Yuri was determined to let her record of never losing stand. She would do well in the upcoming tournament, even if it meant Kari's defeat. But for now she had some training to do. _Let's do this together, Kokoro,_ Yuri told her Angel.

"ANGELIC FIGHT!" announced the computer.

All of a sudden, Sonora came rushing at Kokoro, raising her hand to deliver a punch. Kokoro easily dodged, and aimed a kick to Sonora's side. Her leg made contact and Sonora faltered, her health counter decreasing.

_This just gets easier and easier every time_, thought Yuri just a tad bit smugly.

Kokoro now went in for another kick. Sonora recovered and with record speed, dropped and dodged Kokoro's kick, then squeezed under Kokoro's legs, sliding between them, on her knees, to the opposite side. Surprised, Yuri saw Sonora was now behind Kokoro, with Kokoro's back facing her. Yuri gasped and willed Kokoro to turn around, but she was too slow. Sonora swiftly got up and ran back a little before charging towards Kokoro so fast that she was a light blue blur. One moment Kokoro was just standing there, then the next moment she was flung to the far side of the Layer, the impact almost, but not quite, making her lose because of a Layer Out.

Yuri stared open-mouthed. Sonora was most definitely a speed type Angel. A very speedy speed type Angel. If she wanted to win this, she'd have to be more careful. Fortunately Kokoro did not lose because of a Layer Out, and was still in the game. Yuri suspected this had to do with the emphasis on Sonora's speed. Because she had such great speed, Sonora's other stats must have suffered terribly, including her offensive ability, and, Yuri hoped for her own sake and Kokoro's, her defensive ability. Sonora was simply too light and too weak to throw Kokoro out, or cause any lasting damage, just like Yuri's hero, the Champion's angel, but Misaki definitely had a lot more experience than Aria. Honestly speaking, Kokoro had the upper hand in this battle. Yuri almost showed her thoughts by smiling but stopped herself just in time. Kokoro was an Angel created with prominent offensive power. Though Yuri had given her some speed too, most of her makeup was based on attacking, not dodging attacks made by other Angels, nor withstanding them. Kokoro had almost zero defensive power, but that would not really matter if Yuri stayed focused on an incessant and strong attack. Happily, Yuri put her plan into action as Sonora came rushing towards Kokoro again.

First Yuri willed Kokoro to stand up and wait. Sonora came just as she had before, but this time Kokoro's front was facing her and she was ready. As soon as Sonora came within a few inches of Kokoro, Kokoro started pushing forward with a flurry of sharp kicks and punches, slowly, but steadily, driving Sonora back as she tried valiantly to evade Kokoro's flailing limbs. Finally the time had arrived. Sonora stood just centimeters away from the edge of the Layer. Desperately she tried aiming a kick to Kokoro's head with her right leg, but that last movement left her wide open for Kokoro's double kick with both legs, to Sonora's other leg. Sonora was knocked off balance, as was Kokoro. Both Angels fell out of the Layer, Sonora just a few seconds before Kokoro. As Sonora fell, she disappeared, but Kokoro stayed behind, lying face down on Yuri's blue carpet.

"LAYER OUT!" announced the computer, "the winner is Deus Yuriko Li!"

Now Yuri waved at her opponent with a smile before Aria's image dissolved.

_"Good job, I enjoyed fighting you very much, such a lovely experience. I feel I have learned a lot here today._ –Aria" came the message onto the computer screen.

Yuri replied, _"You fought really well. Sonora is so fast! It was a really tough battle for me. I hope we can meet each other again some day._ –Yuri"

After the message had been sent, the computer screen went blank and all leftover holographic projections disappeared. "Would you like to continue?" asked the computer.

In answer, Yuri turned off the computer switch, thinking one battle was enough for now, got up, walked over to Kokoro, and picked her up. _We won, _she thought with a smile, _and it's because I trusted you. I knew that if you'd fall, I'd make sure the other Angel fell first. We have a long ways ahead of us, Kokoro, with upcoming tournaments and all, but I'm sure we'll do fine together. I don't ever want to lose!_

Yuri looked her Angel over. Kokoro's eyes were closed, and her face had a peaceful look to them, like always. Looking at Kokoro now, after just having tasted the sweet taste of victory, Yuri's mind wandered to that fateful day three weeks ago when she had walked into the local Piffle Princess store, oblivious of the beginning of something so profound, words could not be used to express it. She had witnessed a marvelous battle that day, and much of her battle today had been inspired by the moves she had seen Hikaru and Artemis perform. _Some day we'll become just like them, Kokoro,_ Yuri told her Angel, _let's practice hard, okay?_

Little did little Ms. Yuriko Li know, that she would be facing a challenge soon. A challenge that she would be hard-pressed to overcome. A challenge that might just prove to be a bit too much for her . . .

* * *

Thirteen year-old Rya Shikari's fingers flew across the black and white keys of her piano as she vigorously practiced her scales, chords, arpeggios, cadences, and finger exercises. After the last scale, Rya took a break for a moment so that she could lean back from her piano seat and check the time on the kitchen clock. It was 4:00PM. Rya sighed. She still had a whole forty-five minutes to go, even though she'd managed to make her warm-ups last fifteen whole minutes.

"Rya!," called a female voice from upstairs, "Why can't I hear the piano? I told you, no breaks until the hour is up. Heaven knows how little you've been practicing thanks to that beastly game. If you don't start focusing more on what's important, I'll be forced to take severe action!"

Rya sighed again before opening her music to the right page. She looked at it with distaste for a moment, then lifted her hands and placed her fingers gently on the piano. _Someday my mother will see that Angelic Layer isn't just a game to me . . . it's my life. My Angel is closer to me than I've ever let anyone come, and Angelic Layer is the most important thing for me right now. No thing, nor no one can change that, not even my mom making me practice piano for double the time I need to. _

And with that, Rya charged into her piece. Her music would sound beautiful and uplifting to anyone listening to it, but it held no appeal to her ears. To Rya, the song she played was simply another device of torture her mother had come up with to stop her from doing what she loved best; playing Angelic Layer alongside her Angel, Artemis.

Forty-five minutes later, a rather annoyed and irritated Rya made her way swiftly back up to her room, trying hard to avoid being seen by her mother, who would surely assign her some other useless task to do in order to further prevent her from practicing Angelic Layer. _I haven't been able to practice for so long now . . . ever since that battle at Piffle Princess three weeks ago, and besides, that wasn't all that great seeing as how we never even got to finish! I've barely had a chance to try out my new Layer, which I got almost a week ago!_

"Rya!"

Rya heaved a long sigh. _Of course, _she thought grimly_, no lenience for me, ever. Not even with the Nationals just a few weeks away. Not even if I were to drop dead right here and right now. No Angelic Layer for me. Not even if I need to practice at least once in a while if I ever want to hold my title as tentative Champion. _Rya silently cursed.

Rya slowly made her way to her mother's bedroom, from where she had heard her calling. "Yes, Mom?" she asked at the doorway.

Mrs. Shikari stood inside her walk-in closet with the door slid wide open, staring at the huge collection of Southeast Asian clothes hung on multicolored hangers. She turned around when she heard Rya come in. "Oh hello dear. I just wanted to remind you that we're going to a dinner party at Aliya's tonight. Her parents invited us you see, and—"

"It would just be plain rude not to accept the invitation, am I right?" Rya finished.

Mrs. Shikari smiled at her daughter. "I'm so glad you understand . . . ."

"Yes, Mother. Now, anything else?"

"Oh yes. Your father will be home any minute from grocery shopping, and we'll leave as soon as he comes. Please start getting ready."

"What time is this so-called "dinner" party anyway?" Rya asked incredulously. "Normally we don't eat until 9:00, maybe 10:00!"

"Rya honey. It's 6:00 already, and today's Sunday. Dinner will most likely be served early seeing as how people have to go to work tomorrow. So don't make a fuss, okay?"

Rya resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Oh by the way . . . did you finish all your homework for school tomorrow?" asked Mrs. Shikari.

"Of course."

And with that, Rya walked out of her mother's bedroom, trying not to sound or look like she was angry until the last moment when she stepped into her bedroom and slammed the door shut, cursing again silently.

Rya looked over her room, a plain, undecorated, and fairly large room made to look small by oversized furniture, until her eyes stopped to rest on her Angel, Artemis, sitting with her eyes peacefully closed, unaware of the turmoil raging inside her Deus.

Rya looked away from Artemis and to her Layer. It was the newest model, a Layer with Internet connections. It had taken forever to convince her parents to allow her to get one, and even after that, they rarely allowed her to use it because apparently it interfered with Rya's "already decreasing intellectual capacity", proven by a comparison of her math grades overall in the first two quarters of the school year; there was more than an 8% difference between the two grades, which was the same as 50% in Rya's parents' eyes. First quarter Rya had received a 110.2% A plus. This last quarter she had gotten a 100.4% A. The drop of a "plus" was more than enough to set her parents off. Rya's ears still rang from the three to five hour lectures she had gotten the week report cards had been sent home.

_Math may be important, but it isn't everything. I'm sorry Artemis, I've neglected you for so long now. Please don't be angry, I promise we'll practice tonight, _after _the stupid dinner party, no matter how long I have to stay up._

Practicing by night was nothing new to Rya. Often because of the strict rules her parents set for her, the only time she could practice in peace was at night when everyone was asleep. No matter if it was a weekday and she had school the next day, Rya always made sure not too much time elapsed between practice sessions. She never felt guilty, or if she did, it was an emotion Rya hid well.

_Tonight . . . _thought Rya looking at Artemis, with a small glimmer of hope in her heart, right before she began getting ready.

* * *

Yuri went downstairs to the kitchen after her battle with Aria to get something to eat. She was starving It was four in the afternoon already and she had skipped lunch because she had been too busy setting up her new Layer.

"Hello Yuri, how's it going?"

Yuri looked up from her frantic raid of the pantry to see her father's gentle dark eyes watching her with interest. "Oh hi, Dad," Yuri said, slightly puzzled. Syaoran, her father, was smiling, something he did rarely. "What's up?"

Syaoran's smile disappeared, but his face was still soft and his eyes seemed to sparkle with joy. "Your mother called today."

Yuri let out a squeal. "Mom?! What'd she say? Come on, tell me!"

"Easy there," Syaoran said to his daughter, not unkindly. "Sakura will be coming to join us here tonight. This time, she is going to stay."

"For how long?" Yuri asked, trying to keep herself from being too excited in case of disappointment.

"I already told you, she's coming to stay. Until you grow up most likely."

"You're kidding!" exclaimed Yuri. She started dancing around the room. The only time she'd ever been this happy was the day she had made Kokoro. "Finally, the normal life I've always wished for!"

"Yes," said Syaoran, "we will stay in America from now on together as a family. No more moving around, alright?"

"Yes!"

"Oh and your mother's flight comes in around eleven at night, but you have school tomorrow."

"So?" asked Yuri, "I can stay up that late, and if it bothers you, I'll sleep in the car on the way. It's been over two years since I last saw Mom, I can't miss picking her up from the airport. By the way . . . why is Mom coming on such a short notice?"

"Well," said Syaoran sheepishly, as if he were trying to hide something, "because . . . well . . . she just called me today informing me that she was leaving England." Trying to change the subject quickly before Yuri asked too many questions, he added, "Should I go out and get something for us to eat? We might as well have our dinner now since neither of us had lunch."

"Why didn't you have lunch? Anyways, it doesn't matter, get the take-out pizza, okay? It's really good and we haven't had in such a long time," stated Yuri all in one breath.

"Okay, I'm leaving right now then if that's okay with you. Will you be able to take care of yourself?"

Yuri rolled her eyes. "Dad, I'm thirteen now, a real teenager."

"That's what I'm afraid of," muttered Syaoran, causing Yuri to break out in giggles. He went to the kitchen counter and picked up the keys, seeing something that looked somewhat like a very old book, with a faded tan leather binding, protruding out from a half opened package, out of the corner of his eye. A panicked look came across his face. Not noticing Yuri's intent gaze, Syaoran made a sudden movement to flip over a few bills and sales papers that had just come in the mail today, so that they covered the book. With a small sigh of relief, Syaoran turned around.

Yuri quickly looked back to the pantry in front of her, trying to pretend that she had not just saw her father covering up a mysterious looking package.

"Well then," said Syaoran, breaking the odd silence that had fallen between him and his daughter, "I'll be back. Take care of yourself, and for heaven's sake, close that pantry! I'm going out to get food right now."

"Oh right," Yuri said, embarrassed, as she awkwardly shut the pantry door. "Bye."

Syaoran turned to the garage door, went in, and locked the door behind him. Once she heard the garage door open and the car engine start, Yuri quickly made her way over to the counter, turning over the bills and other mail Syaoran had used to poorly cover up whatever he had been trying to hide.

Suddenly the front bell rang. Yuri jumped. Hastily, she re-covered the package and ran to answer the door. When Yuri opened it, her heart came close to stopping altogether out of fright. "Dad! What are you still doing here? I mean—er I mean I thought you had gone to get the pizza."

Syaoran laughed nervously. "Yeah, but I forgot the check book and I need it to buy the pizza."

"Yeah sure Dad . . . I'll go get them." Yuri ran back to the kitchen where all the keys hung on a small rack nailed to the wall. She quickly picked out her father's set of house keys and took them back to him.

"Thanks," muttered Syaoran taking the keys, "So you will be alright then?"

"YES! Now go before the pizza gets cold. We still have to pick up Mom, don't we?"

"Of course. See you then."

"Bye Dad."

As soon as Yuri heard the door lock behind Syaoran, she ran once more back to the kitchen. _What was my Dad trying to hide? A book? Well I'll see soon enough . . ._

* * *

"Have you finished the final preparations?"

"Yes," replied Ohjiro Mihara to his "niece", Misaki Kobayashi, sitting across from him.

The two were in a large and comfortable hotel room, somewhere in the U.S. There were two beds in the room, and while Misaki lay down on one, Ohjiro sat on another. There were two other people in the room, and they sat around a small circular table in front of the beds.

"All that's left now is the introduction," joined in a man sitting at the table. He was once a famous and respected scientist, but now hardly anyone knew his name. He was Ichiro Mihara, known as Chief Icchan in the past.

"It was pure luck that we were finally able to release Angelic Layer here without going bankrupt." The speaker this time was the other person sitting at the table, former Angelic Layer Champion, Shuko Mihara.

"I totally agree, Mother. I just don't understand though . . . how did Angelic Layer lose popularity in Japan? It was doing so well!" Misaki's eyes took on a confused look.

"Well," started Ohjiro.

"Here, allow me to explain." Icchan looked at Shuko. When she nodded he continued, turning his gaze to Misaki. "Angelic Layer was popular in Japan until you defeated your mother, and even for a couple of years after that. But then a couple of busybodies, mostly parents worried about their kids' futures, started speaking out against controversies regarding Angelic Layer. Was it really healthy for young adults getting ready to go into the real world to think there was nothing wrong with controlling another being, even if it was only a little doll that could neither talk nor think for itself? When we dubbed the controllers of our Angel dolls, "Deuses", it seemed like a great idea. Deus literally means "God" and an Angel's controller is in a way like it's God. Do you understand what I'm saying so far?"

Misaki nodded slowly. "Parents were worried that their kids were taking on "God-like" abilities, such as controlling an Angel, without realizing the responsibilities behind it all."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Icchan. Though his step-daughter often seemed thick, even now when she was a grown woman with kids of her own, she was a lot smarter than she let on. "They thought that soon enough their kids would start expecting even their fellow humans to do as they willed."

"But that's not at all the case," Ohjiro said.

"Of course not, Angelic Layer was created purely as a fun past time!" Shuko looked indignant. "People were just unable to understand that!"

Suddenly the hotel door burst open and in walked Kotarou Kobayashi along with his fourteen-year old son, Koji.

Icchan made a signal to the other people in the room, telling them to hush. He didn't want Koji overhearing anything he shouldn't. Just because he was already a great Deus, proof of his mother, grandmother, and aunt's blood in him, and because he was closely related with the original creators of Angelic Layer, didn't mean that he should have access to any information about the Angelic Layer Production Committee that the public shouldn't know.

"Hey guys, what's up? Thought of anything new for the tournament yet? I saw a few kids playing on those Internet Layers today. They're like an instant hit already!" Koji smiled at his family. His mother smiled back, his father looked worried behind him. But his grandparents, and great uncle, just kept their faces blank.

"Um . . . is anything wrong?" asked Koji.

"Nothing," said his uncle in an attempt to sound reassuring. "We were simply discussing the upcoming tournament."

"Oh yeah," said Koji, "You know, it's odd how we only recently thought of releasing Angelic Layer here in the U.S. seeing as how big of a hit it was back home. At least from what you tell me."

"Uh . . . yeah," Ohjiro looked uncomfortable.

Shuko came to his rescue and tried changing the subject. "Koji dear, are you enjoying our little vacation here? And are you planning on participating in the tournament that will take place here?"

"Of course!" Koji exclaimed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Got our family's rep to keep, haven't I?" he looked around at the older adults for approval. Most of them just smiled weakly, but Misaki made an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Give it your all, Koji! Good luck and make us proud! You know, technically Angelic Layer's already been out in the U.S. for over a year now. Even though there's been no official tournament, people have already voted on favorites who they think are most likely to win. I just fought who they call the "tentative" American Champ the other day. She was a really great Deus. You can tell her heart's into Angelic Layer. You'll need to practice hard if you even want to dream of challenging someone like her!"

"Right, Mother. I take it if I win, I'll be facing you, my own mother?" Koji grinned.

"Actually . . ." began Ohjiro, "I've been wondering about that too Misaki . . ." He looked over to Misaki.

"Oh-san," Shuko said gently, "even though your mother has already given a few free unofficial fights to a couple of people," at this Shuko frowned slightly in Misaki's direction, but her twinkling eyes showed that she did not really mean it, "we've decided that from now on, only the most experienced of Deuses will have the honor of facing the Champion."

"Oh I see," Ohjiro said taking the hint.

"Yes," was all Shuko said in reply.

Koji looked over from his great uncle to his grandmother in bewilderment. _What on earth is going on with my family? I sense that they're keeping a few too many secrets from me. Oh well, I'll just have to show them. Nothing concerning Angelic Layer is ever safe from Koji Kobayashi! _

* * *

END BATTLE TWO

A/N: Okay . . . I have quite a few things to say. Today is 8/21/04 and I've reposted both chapters in their fully edited version. There should now be no large mistakes in either chapter, and very few minor ones.

I also added a LOT more to the end of this last chapter, and I suggest that if you read the first version only, that you go back and read this. (I'll also mention this in chapter 3 just in case.)

Finally, I just wanted to say that this story will ultimately be about four different Deuses and only three of them have been introduced so far; Yuri, Rya, and Koji. The final one will make her/his appearance in a couple more chapters, and meanwhile I'll keep switching scenes from the three already there.

I hope you all enjoy this story, I've got a lot planned, and the plot's only started to unfold. I only ask that if you read, then please also review. I'll more than gladly accept constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement.


End file.
